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Monday, 26 October 2009

ON RETURNING to our hilltop parking spot, we found all well, a few more brown leaves blowing about the wheels, and a sense of relief at being amongst hedgerows again. The colour of things is definitely changing, and small creatures are preparing for winter, in rather interesting ways... We opened our food cupboard to find that during our week away small mouse teeth had been gnawing determinedly at (of all things) the vitamin B12 jar!! Their nibbling had almost succeeded in opening the plastic lid! What strange mice, perhaps they sense themselves deficient in this particular vitamin? It reminded me of a passage in one of my favourite books - Master Snickup's Cloak, by Alexander Theroux, illustrated by Brian Froud.

Mountains were climbed, mazes thrid. He crossed a sea that had no motion on the ship What is Pseudoymry? and came to a desert where he said penances and fed on caper buds, dormice, lentils. Still he pilgrimaged, Reading the footprints of geese in the air.To reach eventually the Black Sea where, living alone on a shale island, he chastised himself with thongs and subsisted only on air and dew. Rain fell on his blue cloak, which he sucked, supplying himself with vitamin B12. Swallows sang upon his wrists.

This artful writing is combined with illustrations of wonderful medieval strangeness. A delight indeed! And I wonder what it is about vitamin B12?!

~

The land we are on is home to a basketmaker and a woodworker/toolmaker. They have a beautifully organised array of outbuildings, workshops and garden. We will be doing the odd little thing here and there for them in return for our spot, and we have been feeding their chickens and stacking logs for them while they are away these last few days.

My muscles ache today from many happy hours of log stacking yesterday. Tui's job was to wheelbarrow the logs from their piles in the field to me in the woodshed where logs are organised by dryness and stacked in sturdy towers.

This kind of outdoor work on a sunny autumn day leaves excellent space for mind-wandering and thinking up more words for my tale. These last few days I have tried hard to climb back into the story which I have picked up off and on like an old piece of knitting over the past year. I carry this little notebook everywhere; in a strange way I almost have come to love it and what it contains, the thought of losing it fills me with horror. It is so hard though to keep a work like this going, when you have other tasks that earn money or are everyday necessities to do instead. I must try to make a little corner for this story every day, even if it is just one word I adjust. Each time I return to it I reread what I have written from the beginning, therefore becoming absurdly familiar with the first few lines. I cross out, rewrite passages, add little scribbled ideas in the back of the book, when words fail I draw, and I go on imagining.

One day I will bring you a finished book, with words and pictures, and a tale that is my own.Here is the corner of the truck where I work, which is rather messy with boots and things, on the desk you can just see the clock that I have been busy painting.. I shall show you that soon, when it is done!

After our logging day, we made an outdoor fire in a firepit that is a few yards away down the field. The plan was to sit and eat dinner by the fire whilst watching a film on the laptop, but that idea proved more romantic in its imagination than in its realisation - the wind blew smoke this way and that, and so we retreated, eyes stinging, to the warmth of our lovely vehicle home, where we could have a fire without smoke (the marvels of a chimney!) and sit in comfort whilst watching The Secret Of Roan Inish- a lovely Irish film about the legend of the Selkies.Tui's latest construction is an ingenious wood and rope laptop-swing that can be hooked from the beam in our luton sleeping loft. And he's fitted two more little speakers in amongst the books there, so that we can sit in bed watching films with surround-sound and hot chocolate and the night tree-breeze blowing in through our round window. Not bad for a rustic peasant life eh? :)

Our autumn walks have been scattered with autumn treasure: chestnuts popped new from their shells, downy-soft and shy, exactly the sheen of a horse. Upside-down mushrooms and right-way-up mushrooms - red Fly Agarics - waiting like Christmas amongst tree roots ... who will nibble first?

(these lovely photos are by Tui of course!)

On my way to the village today, on my way to write you these words, I met a white cat on the lane, she said a few words to me, and I to her, and then she disappeared into the trees.

Once I stepped into this world-wide-web, I was delighted to find that this here blog has been listed by Blogger as a Blog Of Note! Gosh, thousands more visitors are now following our happy little peripheral tale! The internet never fails to amaze me, though it is scary too, you are all very welcome! I'm back off up that white cat lane now, back to our little wooden wheeled house, and a cup of tea and to this exquisite view...

Absolutely astounding! Thank you for your posts, please keep it up, they are amazing. Your art work is equally amazing and I love your writing and writing style. I'm glad blogger had this as a blog of note and that I just happened to pick yesterday to click on a blog of note. You now share a bookmark spot with Thoreau and Emerson!

I can't believe it took the Blogger people this long to figure out that yours is indeed a Blog of Note (far more noteworthy than most, in my opinion).

The cat you met in the lane may have been the ghost of my now late Marguerite Agatha Anna Livia Plurabelle (Maggie), who died in the winter after nineteen faithful years. It would make sense that she'd seek different climes. At any rate, keep up the lovely work.

Beautiful Post.The idea of sitting by the fire to watch a movie is romantic, but i'd say it's just as romantic to come inside after being windswept and smoke soaked to watch a movie all cuddled up inside.I'm looking forward to seeing your finished book!Take care.Lynn

You convey these moments and vistas in your life in such a way that you bring your reader to stand right next to you, sharing just what you're seeing, thinking doing.I always look forward to your posts. And I must find a copy of this book, so beautifully illustrated and written!

I absolutely adore your poetic writing! It is a challenge for me to read it and fully understand all meanings and nyances (english being a foreign language for me), but oh it makes my heart soar! I can never get enough. I adore your beautiful photos too.

Hi, Rima! I am a new reader, from the Tiny House Blog. I have been so enchanted by the photos and stories of your Mobile Hermitage. The day I found your blog, I reconnected with some new-old friends and discovered that they have been living in an insulated box truck for the last year, and the inside as they have remodeled it reminds me of your Bedford Horsebox home. I have been thinking that I would like to live like you and my friends—carrying a beautiful little home with me, trading complex and sophisticated problems for lucid and fundamental ones. I hope that the challenges you face on your way are always the ones you would choose for yourself.

Goodness... your words evoke a world that I thought had gone forever... the place where tramps went out walking and slept under hedgerows... when I was a child in the 60's there were still one or two... but nowadays that kind of closeness with nature I thought had long gone. So pleased to feel your connection with the land you travel. A delight indeed!

Congratulations on being a blog of note! Of course we all thought you were ages ago ;)

That lid has been really tucked into!Be careful its not the larger 'relatives' of mice that you have getting in.Having experienced them at our last house,they will chew more than mice ever do. They are expert chewers and always go for things like plastic lids and anything else that takes their fancy like electric cables!

What a beautiful place you are in at present. I love the 'medieval' illustrations - you could almost have done them yourself. Tui is a clever chap - glad you have a few 'mod cons'. Hope the mice didn't gain access to the Vit.B 12 Perhaps the white cat could be persuaded to house sit for you! I once had to throw out a large container full of homemade muesli as mice had gnawed through the plastic and left definite evidence of their visit! Looking forward to your tale and seeing the clock.

Rima,I discovered your world on Friday, and have been absolutely enchanted with your work, Tui's music, and these glimpses into your life and adventures.no wonder you're a blog of note!cheers--Christine

So far, far away yet so similar. This Missouri Ozarks back is achin' from stacking the winters wood. Your woodpile is impressive. I just wanted to drop in and give you a big old CONGRATULATIONS on blog of note.

Hello thereI am visiting your blog aoday and I feel like stepping into the otherworld.Your photos and more your paintings are so magical and wonderful.Your blog is amazing.I´m looking foreward o see more of your outstanding art.Feel invited ti visit me on:joinjanine.blgspot.comHave a lovely weekJanine

Another congrats on your blog of note!! I'm so glad I randomly stumbbled upon it the other day, having just discovered such things as 'blogs of note' exist! Your words and art are truly inspiring and magical. Thanks for posting!

It is indeed a blog of note, and very beautiful to behold. Congratulations, Rima.

On the Vit B12, alas, there is no mystery. Mice just like to chew plastic, probably to wear down their continually growing teeth. I've had them chew through a car battery, and I'm sure they were not deficient in battery acid.

Oooh wonderful, another gorgeous post from Rima to brighten my day. I check your blog regularly and get inordinately excited when there's a new entry! So many wonderful things in this one, though I have to admit to a chuckle reading the quote from "Master Snickup's Cloak"...as an Australian when I think of 'thongs' I think of what I believe you northern hemisphere types call 'flip-flops'...so you can imagine the picture it brings to mind! Inspired by your examples, I recently talked a good friend into a picnic lunch by a campfire with a bubbling kettle, and two horses roaming around for good measure...amazing how something so simple can feel SOOO good. 'The Secret of Roan Inish' is also one of my all-time favourite films, and I love your beautiful blending of the simple, rustic life with the best of technology, a good lesson on how to find a perfect balance between the two. Keep on inspiring!

Searching for words...ever searching.... yes, that little book has great meaning and signiicance. I always carry two things, mu camera and my notebook. One can never tell where beauty lurks or the beginning of a poem starts sprouting. If you lose those few first lines of a certain turn of phrase, they seem to vanish into the unknown of the universe.

Congratulations of being recognised as a blog of note. Those of us who follow your adventures have known it from our first meeting.

Thank you for your ever so enchanting new writing and pictures. I was delighted to hear about your notebook (I have the same kind of notebook myself!) and your book in process. Can't wait to see it finished.

Thanks for the mention of the beautiful storybook by Alexander Theroux. Now I know what I wish for Christmas.

Your little vitamine craving friend made me smile and reminded me of a mouse in Africa, who pooped in my muesli and I thought it was just some seeds and currants... Needn't I tell more. ;D

Never write you before. but internet is a really amazing thing I agree, just imagine how many peopel in the world love to read you and imagine themselves at your place or in their own fairy tale)) I am sitting in the office in Moscow now and see nothing exept you show))) Thank you!

The Secret of Roan Inish was my first contact with Irish music. I was 10 years old and I've been in love with Ireland ever since (I'm 22 now). I envy you so much! It must be wonderful to take your time and enjoy Nature in this beautiful Fall! All the best!Dia ~ Romania

lovely rima - blog of note INDEED!i'm in alabama, where it rains and rains, visiting my parents in a home that they'll soon be putting up for sale after 39 years. i picture this great big old house now with wheels, built with antique salvage from my father's demolition company - i picture it with wheels, heading off into the sunset while we stand and wave goodbye.my mother is fascinated with your lovely home on wheels! and i've scrolled and scrolled to find again the proper name for a home like yours - to no avail. bedford, yes. but i'm blank this morning for the other term...i'm wishing you a continued beauty to your life, continued shelter from the cold, and a lovely lane that leads you to more like-minded souls.....happy autumn to you....xxx

Rima, I was going to make a shameless attempt to get more readers for my blog, http://unfortunatesecrets.blogspot.com, but then I read your post and decided that I couldn't do that here, simply because your blog is just so great! This is the first time I have read one of your posts, but I have a strong feeling I'm going to be returning. :)

Hello: I stumbled on your blog in the "Blogs of Note" listings and subscribed at once, which is rare for me. I would like to say that I am a knitter, so I completely understand the difficulty of finishing that "old piece of knitting," though I refuse to discuss how many of those I have ;-) Also, the picture of your desk in the corner is Wonderful - at once busy, ecclectic and welcoming. Thanks for posting it.

I absolutely love the esthetic of yourses world. And that photograph (your beautiful work space) has brought me back to the dark corners of the library where I would hide with the I Spy books... thank you!

Also, B12 sounds very scientific, and it clashes, yet it seems to make sense in such a tale!

Ah, yes, this is, indeed, a blog of note.Although that strikes a somewhat prosaic note for the delights we find here!Many would envy you the "peasant life" especially if they could have movies and hot chocolate!

I had a white cat and after 17 years he died and then I saw this picture and realized he had just gone on to another life - ninth? I'm not sure - he was a stray when I found him living on my porch and may have already had several previous lives or maybe only one. This picture filled my heart today and made me happy. Thank you

Hi Rima! I feel pretty shy to be asking this, but I completely fell head over heels for your blog so much after randomly stumbling upon it!! People like you are far and few. I am just blown away..utterly!! With that said and before I go overboard with flattery, which I am very good at doing, would you be willing to help me a little bit? I have a following but not as big as I'd like. I am reaching out to those who already have a huge following where I feel that our artistic styles compliment each other rather than compete. Would you mind writing a little post on your blog or facebook or where ever to send some of your fans my way? I can't tell you how much I would appreciate it and believe me I would do just the same for you in return! Let me know how you feel about this! I am hoping for the best :)

Is been a year now since I came here (into the hermitage) for the first time. Since then I become an admirer of your work and feel that your way of life is so inspiring.I loved the lap-top swing! Genious! I think we have arrange something like that on our "wheeled-home" too!

"Master Snickup's Cloak" was one of my favourite's, as a child, too! I'd forgotten about it, and your post has brought it to mind again. Thank you so much for that. I love your paintings and I love your parents' sculptures. Thanks for making the web such a marvellous source of serendipity.

I've added you to my link list(hope that's okay, I'll remove if not). I love the artwork and design as well as the lifestyle.I humbly invite you to visit and explore ancient's history to read a poem/short story, share philosophy, or learn how to make a tree out of wire.your humble servant,ancient clown

Like Mister Snickup's cloak, it was probably the blueness that had the B12. I have only just started reading your blog, but looks very Irish somehow, I think it must be the curly figures! Lovely blog, beautiful illustrations.

Mmmm dear rima, be glad it were mice & not "6 fingered anaks or hippopodes" ;-) waiting with baited breath for your tale, im already sure it would be perfectly suited to sit side by side with master snickup upon my favourites shelf . so thrilled to see you made blog of note x *ruthie*

I'm so glad I stumbled on this blog. You've created such a complete world that the reader can actually immerse themselves fully in it, even if they are sitting in a cubicle at work. Incredible! Keep up the good work.

Thank you Rima for your blog, which has taken me out of the office where I work and on a magical journey. Your writing and photographs and pictures have been an invigorating blast of fresh, woodsmoke-scented, autumnal air. And also many thanks for your comment on my own tentative first pieces - very green shoots indeed that I am currently nurturing. It's so good to meet another dreaming, writing, painting R!

I came across this your blog again from noticing the "blogs of note" feature. Its looking good and I just wanted to say hi again and its so good to see that you and Tui, have the courage and conviction to live your lives to the full and with a sense of adventure and creativity. Bless you

Beautiful blog! A treat for all the senses. It reminds me of some friends we had when I was a child who came to visit in their beautiful handmade wooden caravan. I love the movie Roan Inish. Have you seen Into the West? Equally lovely. Looking forward to seeing what's next. Visit my blog if you like. You'd be most welcome!

Congrats on becoming 'a blog of note', very well deserved I think :)I used to have a copy Roan Inish ages ago, tis a good film :)That last picture of the view is breathtaking, I miss Devon very much :(

I giggle at the thought of all the wee mice zipping around, full of new energy from the B-12 tablets.

Don't you love Roan Inish. I've been told more than once that I resemble the girl in that. The little girl. I'm not certain how to feel about that, but I think it has something to do with our similar colouring.

Hearty congratulations on being named a Blog of Note! You deserve a wide, wide audience!

Oh, How I miss those deep, hedged laneways of the UK. I love living here in Astralia, but have always said that of the things I miss, those lane are high on the list. Your image of the white cat walking up the lane, made me gulp!Back to the UK next May, so will get a dose of greeness then.

have been following your blog for quite some time now. I love the way you live, though I could never do that myself. I adore your romantic countryside pictures. I´m the reader from Austria that´s been on your counter. I spent last weekend in London, I know what you mean with millions of people. Love,LonelyRider

White cat, how creepy awesome! I would have expected it to morph into some kidn of prince or wizard or something. That seems unlikely but if I were alone in the woods and met such a brilliantly white cat, yea, I probaby would have thought that.

Hi rima. I hope you are doing well.I found your blog by accident when I was creating mine. I am just a latin boy Known as The Gardian, I am from Colombia in South America, but for some reason I am living in Canada. OK enough self introdution, I am here writing this note jus to say to you I love your work, the way you live and your blog. I hope in the deepest of my heart you read this poor words written by a 22 years old boy who is just learning English trying his best to become an storyteller. I also want to invite you to visit my blog and to take a look tell if what you think and whatever. Ok that is everything for now. I must go now snow rider, I was born to be king, but what is a king without an army, a castle and a queen? I am in my quest and hopefully I will be worthy to enter into the valhalla and sit aside odin.

Almost forgot this is my blog pagehttp://meimportaunculistas.blogspot.com/

Oh no, 91 words from others. Your fame is spreading and I feel sort of sad. I don't know why. Your blog is so special Rima and Tui. Gorgeous photos too. In our local woods were many fungi, but mostly they have rotted with all the rain now.

About Me

Rima Staines is an artist using paint, wood, word, music, animation, clock-making, puppetry & story to attempt to build a gate through the hedge that grows along the boundary between this world & that. Her gate-building has been a lifelong pursuit, & she hopes to have perhaps propped aside even one spiked loop of bramble (leaving a chink just big enough for a mud-kneeling, trusting eye to glimpse the beauty there beyond), before she goes through herself.

Always stubborn about living the things that make her heart sing, Rima’s houses have a tendency to be wheeled. She currently dwells in an old cottage on top of a hill on the edge of Dartmoor with her beloved, Tom, & their big-hearted, ice-eyed lurcher, Macha.

Rima’s inspirations include the world & language of folktale; faces of people who pass her on the street; folk music & art of Old Europe & beyond; peasant & nomadic living; magics of every feather; wilderness & plant-lore; the margins of thought, experience, community & spirituality; & the beauty in otherness.

Crumbs fall from Rima’s threadbare coat pockets as she travels, & can be found collected here, where you may join the caravan.